What Is Handicap Horse Racing?

A handicap is a disability or impediment that makes it more difficult for one person to do something as compared to those who do not suffer from this handicap. The same meaning applies to horse racing and the term handicap horse racing means to evaluate the factors that seem to be against a particular horse wining a race - the handicaps. In other words, handicapping boils down to examining all the factors that affect a horse's racing performance and using these inputs to predict the horse's performance in a race.

To obtain the kind of inputs that are needed to effectively handicap a horse race the DRF (Daily Racing Form) is a vital input as it contains complete information regarding all the horses in a particular race, including a detailed history of the horse, its past performance and the odds under which it ran, the amount of money it has earned for its owner and much more. The DRF will give details of the speed a horse ran at various stages of a race and the lead it had over others at those stages or how far behind it was.

This handicapper will find races on similar race tracks and use that information to judge how the horse will do in the race he plans to bet on. Not everything can be gleaned from the DRF and it is necessary to study the horse itself to see if it is calm and ready to race or if it seems nervous or off form - things which will affect it performance on that day. While fast horses win races, this should not be confused with "pace" which is what handicappers use to judge a horse's likely performance. Speed refers to the fastest the run can run but pace refers to its running style.

For example, while some horses are fast starters who fade later in the race, others have the stamina to maintain a steady pace and yet others like to follow a leader until the closing stages of a race and then overtake. A handicapper will need to study the pace of each horse in comparison to the others it is racing against and see which kind of pace is most like to result in a win. Handicap horse racing also means keeping a watch on the odds as the race draws near because any sudden changes could indicate a shift in how the public receives the race outcome or that some big bets have been placed - usually on the basis of reliable inputs.